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Rcviews SEPTEMBER 2004, VOL 80, NO 3

R E V I E W S

Patients’ hospital guide; business web sites; ethical nursing

practice; leadership

BOOKS

How to Survive Your Hospital Stay: The Complete Guide to

Getting the Care You Need-and Avoiding

the Problems You Don‘t Gail Van Kanegan and Michael Boyette

2003, 248 pp $14 softcover

This book offers simple ideas to help people avoid hospital hazards and sub- standard care. The authors’ intended audience includes anyone who may be admitted to or have a loved one enter- ing the hospital-ssentially, everyone at some point. The writing is clear, readable, and easy to understand, which is important because the audi- ence is very general.

tinent topics, ranging from choosing a hospital to avoiding unnecessary tests and procedures. Readers who are not involved in the health care arena may find some of the information frighten- ing, however. For example, one chapter identifies medication errors as one of the top 10 risks patients may encounter in the hospital. The information in this chapter teaches patients how to avoid this risk, but it also has the potential to make patients anxious when a nurse arrives to administer medication.

One of the best features of this book is the pro-nursing stance taken by author Gail Van Kanegan who is a nurse practi- tioner. She portrays nurses as patient advocates and defends nurses who have made medication errors, explaining that hospital understaffing and nursing

The authors discuss a variety of per-

shortages can be causative factors. This book may be useful for someone

who anticipates a hospital stay in the future and has time to read a more than 20-pagc book before admis- sion. The authors do an excellent job of decoding mcdical termmology for the layperson, but this may make thu reading less than stimu- lating fnr nurses or othcr health care profcssionals.

Some readers may argue that this book coiild lead to patient paranoia and distrust; however, today’s health care system requires informed con- sumers to protect themselves from potenhal but unintentional harm. The authors have done an extraordinary job of giving readers what they need to become informed consumers.

This book is available from Fireside Books, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

MARY ELLEN SCARBROUGH RN, MS

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NURSING

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT MARTIN MARTIN, TENN

Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power

of Business Webs Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, and Alex Lowy

2000, 272 pp $27.50 hardback

The Internet has provided a place for businesses to come together with a speed and possibility for collaboration that never was possible before today’s information age. Businesses use the Internet creatively to establish new

AORN IOURNAL

AORN JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 2004, VOL 80, NO 3 Reviews

paradigms for commerce and profit. Digital capital refers to intangible assets gained through knowledge and rela- tionships. This is the currency of the future.

The authors studied hun- dreds of diverse business web sites and identified five types of con temporary business web site models for in-depth discussion, including agoras, aggregations, value chains, alliances, and distributive net- works. These models are being used successfully in today’s business world.

The authors discuss the key elements of each model, and many illustrative case studies are presented that demonstrate these business web site models in action. The models are distinguishable according to economic control and value integration, though subcategories of each can be identified. Introduction to the subject includes the evolution, structure, and characteristics of business web sites. The authors also discuss human and digital capital in this newly defined business world and a process for business web site design strategy.

The information is thor- ough and well researched, and the authors relate it in a logi- cal format. The illustrations are enlightening and educa- tional. Diagrams provide suc- cinct summaries of the chapter content, and the index is easy to use. This book contains information that is timely and highly applicable to today’s business environment.

Though the passage of time

has negatively affected the economic stability of some of the businesses discussed in this book, the lessons are still significant in today’s dynamic business environ- ment. The Internet and the opportunity it presents for businesses are here to stay. Highly successful businesses will explore and apply the business web site strategies that best fit their corporate goals and bring enhanced value to their customers and increased wealth to their stockholders. Digital intercon- nectedness through business web sites has changed the face of business strategy forever.

This book is available from Harvard Business School Press, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 021 63.

JANICE DAVIS RN, MS, C N O R

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

CARDINAL HEALTH CONSULTING 8, SERVICES HOUSTON

Ethics i n Pen o pera tive

Practice Nancy K. Kuehl and

Nikki Parkec eds 2004, 7 3 pp

$70 member/$88 nonmember paperback

Perioperativc nurses must make ethical decisions daily in their work settings, and this book provides guidelines for making such decisions. It is based on an award-winning

series ot articles p uhl is hcd in thc

A OK N ] O I / U M / and

is an excellent nursing continu- ing education activity on ethi- cal practices.

This book applies the American Nurses Associa- tion’s (ANA’s) Code of Elhics for Nurses With Interpretntive Statements to perioperative settings. The authors provide a framework that periopera- tive nurses can use to make ethical decisions.

Each of the nine units addresses one provision of the ANA code and discusses how it applies to perioperative nursing. The units include examples of behaviors that reflect the ethical obligations of perioperative nurses. At the end of each unit, there are excellent review questions with multiple-choice answers. An answer sheet and evalua- tion of the activity also is pro- vided. The activity is worth 13.5 contact hours.

Overall, this book is very well written and easy to read and understand. All perioper- ative nurses will benefit from using this independent study guide.

This book is available from AOIW, Inc, 2170 S Parker Rd, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80231- 5711.

ELLEN OCONNOR RN, BSN, CNOR

STAFF NURSE

WOMEN CHILDREN’S HUNTSVILLE HOSPITAL

HUNTSVILLE. ALA

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